The Following Twilight
by whitworth5274
Summary: After the Twilight Princess leaves their world behind, the Hero Link and Princess Zelda reminisce under the gaze of twilight about the events of "Twilight Princess" and the woman who saved them all. (In honor of Twilight Princess HD)
_"Link... I... See you later."_

A woman fled up transparent stairs, and faced the two others below her. She disappeared in a shower of light into a portal embedded on a huge stone slab. A mirror shattered, leaving not a single piece to be collected, separating two worlds, one of light and one of shadow, forever.

To the young man, clothed in the green of the heroic warrior of legend, the separation was more painful than it should've been. The woman, his longtime companion ever since she found him as a wolf in the dank dungeon of Hyrule Castle (and she, a much different form than how she left them), was his only friend who knew his turmoils and tribulations. She knew of all his glorious victories and inglorious failures, his dealings of death and his grips with death, his happiness, his anger, and his sadness. He was enraged when he thought her dead, and soaked in glee when he found her alive and in her true form. She was his relief, or sometimes the opposite. But it didn't matter that she left, but that she left with something less than a simple goodbye. By her words, she implied a future meeting, but he was no idiot. There will be no future meeting, and he didn't know whether to feel furious or sorrow.

To the young woman beside him, dressed as the royalty she is and will be, her thoughts were on the same person. Unlike the boy, she didn't have the relationship he had, but neither did he have the understanding that she possessed of the woman. When the woman first appeared to her, before (excuse her language) shite hit the fan, the young royal took every precaution to not let her country go through the turmoil her great-grandmother experienced twice. If it wasn't for the woman, the boy beside her and herself may not have save the land of Hyrule as they did, or at all. The sword would have never dropped, and twilight would have engorged the land. But light prevailed, and nearly killed the woman had not the girl combined her essence with the deformed woman at their third meeting. That led to experiencing all the woman felt or thought, and the young girl gained understanding and empathy. Ousted from the throne, Realm taken over, reliance upon one brave soul, she understood it all. While she wasn't there physically, the sight of the shadow world was unlike it could be led to believe, just as its inhabitants might think of the light world the young royal rules. It led to the dual understanding that their worlds cannot meet, but the royal was shocked by the shattering of the mirror, probably just as much as the boy beside her was. It left them in a quietness that neither knew how to break. Their eyes never wavered from the spot the woman, who the young boy and girl learned to be the Twilight Princess, distanced herself from them...forever.

Time went on without them, and it was a while before the blond man in the green tunic lowered his gaze, and spoke to the brunette woman in the purple and white dress. His voice was rough from disuse, although it had not been but minutes ago he spoke to the foreigner. "Princess, I believe it is time we depart." He took a glance up to the setting sun, and the pains of the incoming hour seeped through him. "It is getting late, and you need to be home."

"Or what's left of it." The Princess of Hyrule iced her words, though she didn't direct them at the lad beside her. No, her tone was meant for her ancestor's now deceased nemesis, who died at the hands of the both herself and the warrior. Taking an apologetic sigh, she nodded her agreement of the Hero of Hyrule's plan, and turned away from the large rock. The boy followed her, and they walked away from the podium. Stopping a small distance away, the princess took the hero's hand (his sword hand), but before he could question, she chanted a quick spell that spiraled them out of the Arbiter's Grounds and sent them seconds later to the banks of Lake Hylia. She let go of his hand, and stepped up to the shore of the lake. She had previously heard of it losing its water level when the monsters of twilight stole the light spirit Lanayru's power away from her, and could only imagine what the hero and the Twilight Princess went through to get it back. She plopped onto the sandy ground, quietly laughing at the thought of what most of the nobles would think of her sitting on the beach with her dress on...and kicking her boots off. Setting the leather brown footwear aside, the young woman wadded her small feets in the cooling water. Beside her, the young boy stood over her, not understanding why she did what she was doing.

"Your Highness… I was-"  
"Chosen hero, believe it or not, but not just a few hours ago, my life was at stake, and so was the fate of my country by some deranged old man. Is it a crime for me to relax in victory?" Her blue eyes met his, and he gave in with a shrug, taking his seat beside her. Despite his earlier stance, he was quite pleased to have a moment of respite, for the events of the day, and the ones previous to it over the last ten months, gave no such time. Plus, although he will never admit this due to his chivalrous nature, sitting along with the Princess of Hyrule after witnessing her shoot arrows at their foe was thrilling. His former companion, despite spending more time with her, never directly fought with him unless the situation called for it. The princess made her decision herself.

He watched her lean back, using her arms as supports, relax her face, and listened to her hum a familiar tune. It was the one he had howled when he first entered the Lost Woods, but the fact the princess knew the song (and probably the others) enticed him. Maybe a conversation like this, and not a chained ball, was needed to break the uncomfortable ice that had formed between them due to the disappearance of the Twilight Princess. Crossing his own legs, he took off the floppy cap that came with his tunic, folding it in his hands. "That song… I howled it before. What is it called?"

The princess opened one eye, piqued by the hero's interest. "It is my lullaby...well, it has my name, but it could belong to any of the Zeldas before me. It is said that the song was composed by Queen Zelda I, or her best friend, the Hero of the Minish, whose name should be well known to you, given your state." The hero snorted in amusement, and set his cap back on.

"Yeah, I figured that out some time ago. I… I met my ancestor."

The princess rose up, using her arms to support her chin. "The Hero of the Minish? He's your ancestor?"

"No no no… My great-grandfather. His name was Link as well. Your great-grandmother, Queen Zelda the Wise, knew him, I supposed?"

The princess didn't have to ponder over who the hero meant. "You mean… The Hero of Time, Sir Link the Courageous?"

The hero, whose name is indeed Link, nodded to the princess, named Zelda. "I guess so. I never got a name from him, but I do know from Ordon records that I am his descendant. That's why Bo wants me to be the next Mayor of Ordon, and quite frankly, I was up for it until...now." He picked up some sand, and let it fall from his fisted hand. "I guess I could do something else, maybe? What about you, Majesty?"

Zelda sighed. "Link, can we drop formalities? I rather not be referred to my title on my time off, and after today's fights, I feel rather like a badass. So, to you, I'm Zelda, and to me, you're Link. Deal?"

Link smiled. "Yes, Swearing Princess Zelda."

"That is definitely the reason Midna found you to be troublesome. Too free-spirited in the mind." Zelda watch Link tense at the mention of Midna, and internally scolded herself for mentioning the Twilight Princess. Her departure was still too fresh in both their minds.

However, the conversation didn't cease. "Did she now? I would not tell you what she said about you, but to sum it up...she thought you were a pathetic and weak princess."

Zelda murmured the hero's last words to herself, and then chuckled. "I heard worse from my own nobles. When did she say that?"

"In Kakariko, when I was collecting the Tears of Light to revive Eldin. I had just found the kids as well. She was definitely wrong, of course. You had no choice but to surrender. Hell, I could barely beat Zant myself, and the first time I met him, he whooped my ass. Not to downplay your skills, but I don't think you could've stood a chance. I got lucky because his battle was technically replays of previous battles for the most part, and he got sloppy at the end."

Zelda smiled, and patted Link's shoulder. "You do forget that I was there, but thanks for the story. Yes, it was smart, and I dare not think the alternative. It was Midna who warned me of Zant in the first place, so we weren't completely caught off guard. So many soldiers fought, and cost them their lives...yet ten months later, they are avenged twofold, and while history will remember me and you, we will remember who truly saved Hyrule." Zelda looked to the sky, the first shades of twilight encompassing the land. Link glanced up as well, and lean back, similar to Zelda's former position.

"Hey, Zel, I got a question."

The princess nodded. "Sure, ask away?"

"Tell me, do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls? Rusl asked me the same question days before everything happen."

"Hmm… Yeah, I guess I have. Especially during my imprisonment when the Lanayru Province was cloaked in twilight. I thought of my people, my father and mother, you and Midna, and whatever came across my mind that drew sadness. But now, as I look up at this twilight, I feel… happy."

"Happy? How so?"

"Because now when I look up to it, I know there is another world, where a benevolent woman rules the inhabitants of twilight. We may have known each other briefly, but I owe everything to her."

Link nodded in understanding. "Rusl said that it is the only time our world intersects with theirs, and we can feel the lingering regrets of spirits over there. I think I know Midna's lingering regret will be not being able to see us again, but in the end, she made sure we aren't alone in our regret." Link reached out to Zelda's dirty gloved hand, and clasped his hand around it. "You know what they say, it is better to have someone to know what you've been through than to keep it bottled up."

Zelda agreed, and a big grin formed on her countenance. "Ganondorf could have used some of that. So glad he's gone, after he...ugh, possessed me."

"So glad Zant is gone as well, and my canine days are over. I couldn't stand having four legs. But… I will miss Midna, forever."

Zelda turned to Link, feeling just the same as him. "Yeah, she will be sorely missed." She turned to the fading twilight, and whispered, "Thank you, Midna."

Link heard Zelda's whisper, and followed her lead. "Yeah, thank you Midna, and see you later." As twilight began to turn into the first signs of night, Link stood himself up, and held his hand out to the princess. "Now I think we should return to the city. Plus, you still didn't answer my question of what you are planning to do."

Zelda equipped her boots, and took Link's helping hand. "Well, I will be Queen soon, so...maybe an extra long vacation after I get Hyrule set right. Care to join me, Sir Link?"

Link nodded. "Well, sure. But am I to be knighted? If so, I don't want to be Sir Link the Courageous 2.0."

"We'll come up with something." So as the young hero and the young princess walked away from the lake, and the twilight turned into night, a voice called through the void, and if Link and Zelda heard it, the legends never say.

" _Thank you, Link and Zelda."_


End file.
